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Reunion in Jinja!

In the past week, I have worked on transcribing my interviews and met with YOLRED (Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development – an initiative founded by former abductees and others who were affected by the war to support youth).

I went to Jinja last Friday. The journey started with a canceled bus at 8 AM and a one-hour delayed post bus from Gulu to Kampala. The trip was quite long (7 hours) as the bus stops several times on route. In Kampala, I changed to a matatu (the shared taxis) to Jinja with the help of the brother of my contact. The drive was … interesting. There are at least 15-20 persons in the car with all their luggage (be it bags of corn, rice, weekend bags). After dark, much rain, and delays due to queues, our driver decided to drive off-road – against traffic! After 3.5 hours, I finally arrived in Jinja where Matilda picked me up. Matilda and I met at the MFS preparation course in Hӓrnӧsand. It was so much fun to reunite in Uganda. On Saturday, we went river rafting, sightseeing in town, and had a delicious dinner right next to the Nile. Unfortunately, I had to go back already on Sunday morning to reach the last afternoon bus to Gulu which leaves at 1 PM. After the experience with the matatu on Friday, I decided to go with a safer, more comfortable, and expensive option: The Pineapple Express. I can only recommend it. We arrived in just 2.5 hours and that included a stop at the bank. The service is a hire car and driver, which takes you from point A to B with whatever stops you desire (hence, the higher cost).

This time, I will be back in Gulu for just three days as Matilda and I are going to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to track the gorillas. I am so excited!

Om Josephine

My name is Josephine and I am a 3rd year student of the Human Rights-program (BA) at Malmö University. In mid-April, I am travelling to Gulu in Northern Uganda where I will interview youth that were abducted during the war and professionals working in psycho-social care programs. The purpose of my minor field study is to investigate the available remedies and their relation to the reintegration process as well as Uganda´s legal obligations under international law.